Half the board of administrators of a seniors membership perished, as did the president of the Lion’s Membership, a highschool instructor and the proprietor of a trucking firm. Tony Blanco, a retired main league baseball participant who died within the catastrophe, was a local son.
So was Rubby Pérez, the merengue singer whose live performance drew greater than 400 individuals — many from his hometown.
Within the wake of a nightclub roof collapse that killed a whole bunch of individuals, the Dominican Republic is brimming in grief. That heartbreak is maybe most palpable in Haina, an industrial metropolis exterior the capital that misplaced greater than two dozen individuals within the tragedy, together with neighborhood leaders and cultural heroes.
A gritty municipality finest recognized for its bustling seaport and a legacy of lead air pollution that after gave it the unwelcome moniker “the Dominican Chernobyl” now has one other undesirable distinction. When the roof of the Jet Set disco got here crashing down final Tuesday morning, killing 226 individuals, it dealt a heavy blow to the small metropolis.
Twenty-five individuals from there have been amongst those that died.
“God has a approach of speaking with us, and typically it’s obscure,” the previous Pink Sox participant David Ortiz, higher generally known as Huge Papi, mentioned Sunday. Mr. Ortiz used to dwell in Haina, and traveled there to assist bury its useless.
Joined by the president, Luis Abinader, dozens of residents gathered in a sweltering gymnasium to say goodbye. They clutched white roses and tried via tears to know how a single city may lose so many individuals. Some questioned aloud how they’d ever handle to chuckle and sing once more.
A photograph slide present of the victims flashed on two massive screens whereas an evangelical pastor and a Catholic priest supplied consoling phrases.
The singer Joselito Trinidad carried out stirring ballad renditions of “Wanting For Your Kisses” and “I Will Return,” two of Mr. Pérez’s merengue songs. He sang within the excessive pitch that Mr. Pérez, generally known as the “highest voice in merengue,” was well-known for.
“We’re a individuals who have recognized find out how to unite via thick and skinny, and that is no exception,” he mentioned earlier than singing. “As a local Hainero, I increase my voice in order that we do not forget that voice that took wings and went to a greater place.”
Within the gymnasium, many bleacher seats remained empty: Folks round city have been busy attending funerals.
When the service ended, one girl ran after the president’s entourage sobbing and demanding accountability.
“Oh, my lovely buddy, there’s nobody like her anymore!” cried Kirsis Bautista, whose buddy, Juana Vásquez, died within the catastrophe. “Mr. President, justice! Let me see Luis Abinader and say: ‘justice!’”
Mr. Pérez, 69, was a well known merengue artist and a member of the Golden Haineros, a personal social membership for individuals over 55 to assemble and attend instructional workshops. The membership’s 143 members have been additionally his followers, so 25 of them made the half-hour journey to Santo Domingo to observe him carry out at Jet Set.
Solely 12 made it out.
The group’s vice chairman died, as did the treasurer and occasion planner.
“The very first thing I mentioned once I heard about what occurred was that I used to be going to stop,” mentioned Hectór Rincón, the membership’s president. “Folks instructed me, ‘no, we’ve to seek out the power to maintain this moving into honor of those that died.’”
The seniors hire an area above a nightclub known as the Home of the Drunk, the place they play dominoes and throw birthday events, adhering to strict guidelines: no discuss of politics, faith or sports activities.
On Sunday morning earlier than the service, the membership was nonetheless embellished in balloons and birthday banners from the final celebration, however a big black ribbon on the entrance door gave away that one thing horrible had occurred. The temper was grim amongst a handful of members, gathered earlier than one more funeral.
Now as an alternative of organizing jewelry-making workshops, Mr. Rincón is on the lookout for psychologists to assist survivors. “This is sort of a battle,” he mentioned. “Once you come again from battle, you aren’t the identical.”
Mr. Rincón grew up with Mr. Pérez, they usually sang in a choir collectively as youngsters.
“Haina was his the whole lot,” Mr. Rincón mentioned.
He tried to share extra fond reminiscences of his buddy. Tears received in the way in which, so he talked as an alternative in regards to the city’s industrial historical past.
Haina’s official title, which no one makes use of, is Bajos de Haina, or the Haina Lowlands. Dwelling to about 158,000 individuals, it’s about eight miles west of Santo Domingo.
The nation’s solely oil refinery is right here, and its port strikes greater than a 3rd of the nation’s maritime cargo.
Mr. Rincón recalled its heyday, when a sugar mill and different factories churned out engineers, mechanics and staff in different expert trades. These companies are gone now.
“This was a city of migrants — principally miners and agricultural staff,” mentioned Jesús Ramírez, a member of the Lions Membership, which misplaced three members. “And it turned out a few of the nation’s finest sports activities gamers and artists.”
The Lion’s Membership will significantly miss its president, Luis Emilio Guillén, who was additionally vice chairman of the seniors’ membership. A former soccer participant who owned a trophy firm, he was recognized for attending each cultural and sports activities occasion.
“We’re going to proceed the work he was doing in sports activities and tradition,” mentioned Margarita Tejeda, who represents Haina in Congress and is a Lion’s Membership member. “This can be a collective ache. Everyone seems to be in a whole lot of ache.”
Hogla Enecia Pérez contributed reporting from Haina.
